Recital Recap

Spring has sprung and in the dance world that means recital season! This past weekend was the culmination of a years work on dance technique, choreography and general dance skills. For some that's easier than others! These girls keep me feeling young, except for when I realize that I'm not nearly as young as them!

I love dancing, but more than that I love the people that I dance with. Jan is like a friend/confidant/extra mom to me and her friendship and dance tutelage is priceless. I've also been lucky enough to dance with my sister, Ashland, for the last couple of years. She was always in the younger classes when I danced as a youth, but now as an adult the time we spend together in the studio is wonderful. And on top of that, I get to hang out with Harlee, the best niece ever (in a two way tie with Mabry, that is). Not to mention the other girls that make dancing at Southern Dance Arts so special, because they're pretty special themselves!

Saturday we were at the high school by noon to run technical and dress rehearsals. It was a long day, but very necessary to pull off a smooth show on Sunday. Along with dancing, I also help backstage getting kids lined up, making sure people aren't in the way that don't need to be there, quick costume and set changes, and lighting the way for people passing through the dark corridors of the back stage area. After 8 hours of rehearsals Saturday, I think we were feeling pretty tired, but prepared for Sunday!

Sunday afternoon and showtime came quickly and left even faster. At the end of the day I couldn't believe it was over so fast. The show went great, all the girls danced like professionals and at the end of the day we put on a great show. Personally, I have never really enjoyed performing. I love dancing in class, doing the basics of barre and centre work, but getting up on stage as never been the best part for me. People like Ashland, they were born to perform. Me, I like the prep work more. However, showtime came and I felt ready. I daresay I even enjoyed it, a little. :) I'm looking forward to next year and being even better.

And now for some pictures! I didn't get many as I stayed busy most of the time, but we caught a few fun moments.

Faith and Jordin being silly during Tech Rehearsal. Love these girls.

Saturday after 8 hours of rehearsals Andrew and I went to dinner and killed this pizza. So good.

Hair and makeup before sweating through 8 hours of dance! Gotta love the heavy stage makeup.

 

 

 

 

Faith and I after our performance en pointe of momma peacocks.

After performance flowers from my momma!

Baby love with Harlee at dinner after the show.

We had a great dance season, and had a lot of fun. I got back on pointe, which I'd always wanted another chance at. Not saying I'm any good, but I can do a few things. More than anything it was a personal accomplishment. You're never too old for anything if you set your mind to it!

Chicago Recap

I'm a bit late getting back in the swing of things since returning from Chicago last week. We flew up Sunday morning for a tradeshow and returned Wed evening. This trade show was AWEA Windpower 2013 and we went with our magazine Wind Systems. Most people in the industry know our magazine and love it, so it's easy to talk to people about it. Over all it was a great show!

Huge photo dump incoming!

Rico saying Mommy don't go!

Beautiful weather for the flight into Chi-town.

Swank hotel room at the Palmer House Hilton.

I got some time to explore the city and got to visit the Bean in Millennium Park. Kind passerby took this for me in exchange for me taking their photo as well.

View of the city scape reflected in the Bean.

Chicago is such a beautiful city. For as large and busy as it is, there are flowers everywhere. Love the color it adds.

Our booth at AWEA Windpower 2013.

Day 1 of the trade show before heading down to the shuttle.

Flowers galore!!

Beautiful view from the top floor of the McCormick Center where the trade show was held.

The show was a success and while it was fun to get out of town and see the sites, I sure was glad to come home to Andrew and the furbabies! I swear Rico had grown significantly in the 4 days I was gone! He looks so big these days!

Rico Roller

Things are going well out in the woods of Alabaster. We now have a full blown kitten on our hands with Rico. He's running, trying to jump, stumbling less and being generally cute. Except that he's feisty. And a biter. Like he wants to bite your face, or hands, or whatever he can get in his mouth. He doesn't know how to play nice I guess. He'll have to go have shots before too long, but not quite yet. I figure he's right at 6 weeks. We've been keeping him in the bedroom instead of the cat carrier anymore as he's outgrown it being comfortable for more than 20 minutes. He does pretty well except running underneath your feet every time you walk in the room. It's such a fun stage to just sit and watch him. Shinobi and he are making friends and starting to play. I'm slowly introducing Sidney, trying to make sure that they learn to play nicely. I want them to be friends but Sid gets pretty excited and just wants to lick the little guy to death.

Nobi and Rico getting to know each other.

Peek-a-boo!

Found a nice warm spot!

 Rico Roller!

 I can play whi chu?

Aside from kitten talk, things are in full swing at the studio gearing up for the recital in May. I'm doing a ballet dance to Evanescence's 'Secret Door' and a lyrical dance to a song called 'Shelter' by Birdy. Both are pretty intense so far and I'm doing my best to learn quickly and stay up with these younger girls. Definitely not as easy as it was 10 years ago!!

I also get some good Harlee time in when I'm at the studio. I can't believe she'll be two in less than a month!! Love that baby.

That's about it for this week. I got some good time with my niece, my animals crack me up, I always love my honey, and my girlfriend Beth and I got out for some girl time on Sunday. Dance again tonight, then a few days of work at the Outback. More stories later!

Cuddles and Lawn Care

 This week we got lots of cuddles from this little guy. How cute are they?

 

 Shinobi is finally feeling a little more comfortable and back to herself. She's been very interested in Rico the last few days. He's spending more time exploring and running/wobbling around and she stays within a few feet to keep close watch. She isn't 100% sold yet, but she's definitely coming around.

We had bad weather Thursday so the office closed down at 1:00. I took Sidney and Rico to Mom's for the evening while Andrew went to his parents when he left work since it was closer. The storm ended up being nothing more than a thunderstorm for Birmingham, but some other parts of state did get some very bad weather. Since the April 27 tornadoes two years ago we're all more cautious. Thankfully we were lucky and got some family visiting time. And Rico got to meet Grandma! ;)

The weather cleared up for Saturday and we got some beautiful weather. I spent a few hours in the yard trying to get it raked and ready for summer. A good half of the front yard hasn't been raked in probably 3 years, so I was eager to get that up and see if we can get some grass going! The pine straw I got up was so thick I had to use a hoe to break through it before my rake would even begin to pick it up. In the end I got a good chunk of the front cleared up! Some places are seeing sun for the first time in years. I'm not sure I got it cleared early enough in the season to get grass, but it looks better either way. I still have 2/3s of the front yard to go and about 1/3 of the back before it's fully raked and deleafed. Plus all the small to medium sized branches that have fallen from the numerous trees over the last 2-3 years. It wasonly about two hours worth of work, but it is tiring!!

The thick pine straw that was removed. Success! (this is the before picture). I didn't think about the after until it had started raining.

Front yard from the front door looking 

straight out. Lots of trees and leaves!

The side portion of the front yard from the front deck looking right. Still have to rake all that. Slight hill makes for an interesting lawn mower ride!

Overall it was a productive week including family time, a date night, a few dance lessons, a disc golf outing or two, lots of animal love and plenty of work. Can't complain!

Wedding Plans

Wedding planning is going smoothly, and we're getting closer and closer. I can hardly believe we're little more than 7 months out. Didn't he just propose?! It's all exciting and a little over whelming. There's a lot to plan, both large and small details. There's also a lot ot pay for. Even keeping things small and simple, weddings aren't cheap! When we first started talking about plans and budgets I asked Andrew if we should just elope. He answered with an emphatic no. "We are only doing this once, we're going to do it right." Something to that effect. And he's right. So here we are!

The chapel at the 4-H Center is just beautiful. It's a covered but open facility that really pulls in the light and has a lot of natural beauty. I love that we won't have to do much for decorating since it's such a pretty place. There's a large, covered pavilion on site that will hold the reception. Got that!

Our good friend Joe is with Feel the Beat Entertainment, and he will be providing the entertainment for us. He is great at what he does and I can't wait to see him in action! The wonderful Callie Combs will be doing photography for us. She did our engagement pictures and they turned out so well, and she was fantastic to work with. We are both eager to have her shoot the wedding.

We've narrowed down catering to two options. I've got to meet with them to get that ironed out as it is the last big thing on our list of planning. I'll feel better once that's finished. I have my dress, and it is absolutely beautiful, but that's all I'm saying until the day of! ;)

I've been thinking and working on centerpieces and decor and I think I've got a plan I like that won't cost us an arm and a leg. I took two size terra cotta pots and started painting them in our wedding colors which are burgundy, plum and champagne. I think I'll do burgundy pots, then single pansies in purple to line the tables. They are the long, rectangle tables, so a few down the center might look nice. Possibly some type of table runner or fabric underneath. There will be off white table cloths provided with the venue.

 

These pansies are much to large for the pots, but show the color I like.

We've talked about other details and have at least a loose plan for most everything. We have save the dates, which will go out in the next couple of weeks. I bought invitations which we will print ourselves and save a good chunk of change.

One of the most exciting parts is we've booked the honeymoon!! We will be spending 6 nights, 7 days in Punta Cana of the Dominican Republic. We've got an all inclusive resort that hosts a ton of pools, bars, restaurants, amenities and fun stuff. I mean I'm ready to go, like now! Here is where we'll be staying.

Aside from that, we are totally open to suggestions or ideas from someone who's been in the planning stage. It's a lot to plan, but we're excited and it just keeps getting closer!

Rico's Story

So this little cutie made his appearance almost a week ago. Last Saturday morning I woke up to get ready to go do Easter stuff with Andrew's family (he was working, so this was a solo trip) and I kept hearing a pitiful but strong 'mew, mew.' I could tell it was near the house, but at first I brushed it off thinking it was a bird. I went to Chelsea, visited, ate, hunted Easter eggs, had a great time and returned home to get ready to go to Outback for my shift. The 'mewing' was still there! It was obviously under the floor in the kitchen and the bedroom.

This is the back side of our trailer. The red circle shows a crawl space for workers to be able to get underneath the house if necessary. The mewing wouldn't stop, so I walked around back to check it out. The door to this crawl space was open!

I stuck my head in and called to the lost kitty and he meowed back! Trouble was, I couldn't see him. He was inside the insulation far out of reach. I could talk and call and yell and he'd respond, but there was no way he was making his way down. Disheartened, I had to leave for Outback. I worked my shift, came back and called a few more times. Left some stinky canned chicken for him hoping he'd make his way down. No luck. That night we went to sleep with the saddest sound of mewing coming through the floor boards.

Sunday was Easter. Andrew had to work, I had family stuff, we went off to do our seperate things, all the while the poor baby was just meowing away under the house. After a fun time at my Mom's house we came back and tried calling him again. No luck, but he was still alive and still there. At this point I'd pretty much accepted that we couldn't reach him and he was going to die under the house. Andrew thought otherwise. He decided he would go through the crawl space and try to reach the baby. He is much braver than me!

On the top is the door going in, and the bottom is the space under the house. He put on long sleeves, gloves and headed in. I was worried something would happen to him. I would sacrifice the kitten to keep Andrew safe, but he wasn't as worried as I was. If he was he sure hid it well. He went in, took a broom with him and started knocking around the insulation. Luck was with him because after a minute the kitten plopped out and onto the ground! However, he was still out of reach and the pipes under the house blocked Andrew from getting any closer. I figured, "Great, we're so close but can't reach him." The kitten was lost and confused and not coming to our voices. Smart thinking Andrew used to broom to sweep him over within reach, we pulled him out and sweet baby was free!!

I have never been more proud, impressed or in love with Andrew after seeing this. My heart melted in a whole new way. He was a little shaken, very dirty, but never more handsome in my eyes. I am so proud and thankful for the way he handled it. He was brave when I was not.

We got some kitten milk for the baby, started feeding him and realized that although he may have been stuck in insulation under the house for 36 hours, but he was not a weakling!! After a vet check and a clean bill of health we knew he was 4 ounces, about 3 weeks old, male and generally healthy. We don't know why the mother cat moved him or what may have happened to any siblings. I'm glad there was only one though!

We have agreed for now that we aren't positively keeping him, but we aren't saying no. He has a minimum of 4 weeks before he could be fully weaned, litter box trained and rehomed. We will take care of him in that time frame and make our decision then. I have a feeling that he won't be going anywhere though. I told Andrew it was up to him, he told me it was my decision. After the work he did to rescue him, and the bonding I am doing while bottle feeding, I think it'd be hard to let him go. He recognizes my voice and wakes up from a dead sleep if he hears me talking. It's so cute. He definitely knows who mom is!! That boy just wants to be held, loved on and fed. He's a sweet little thing.

So that is the story of how Rico came to us. Quite a harrowing experience for such a young guy, but it has not affected him one bit. If anything he is probably more loving because of it. He definitely gets plenty of attention! (we won't talk about how the existing pets are handling it, but they're coming around.)

I'll close with a couple of pictures of our newest cuddler. He's a great sleeping partner, except that he's pretty small and easy to roll over on!!

An Introduction

I love reading other peoples blogs, whether I know them personally or sometimes I find them after falling down the Rabbit Hole of the blog world. The way other people live their lives fascinates me, and I enjoy seeing how differently people live. And this is a total No Judgement Zone, so no worries. Do what you do and live your life how you want. With that said, I've decided that I'd like to open my life a little. More so for myself and documentation, but also for friends or family that are far away and when life gets busy, they can check in and see what's been going on.

Now for the main characters in the story!

Andrew - my love, my best friend, my movie-watching partner, amongst many more titles. 

I love him :)

Our Pets - Sidney, Stella, Shinobi and Rico

 

Stella was the first of the bunch. She's about 4 years old, and she merely tolerates everyone except me. She has attitude and won't hesitate to let you know if you've overstepped your boundaries!

 

Shinobi is a 3 year old love bug. She loves cuddling when both of us get in bed or as soon as you put a blanket over yourself. That's her cue to jump in your lap and headbutt you until you rub her head.

 

Sidney is a one and a half year old Boxer. She's about 60 pounds, lots of energy, and is a total Daddy's girl. No one stacks up to him. Not even close.

 

Rico was found in the insulation underneath our trailer. He's about 4 weeks old, and is calling our house home for the time being. I'll do a full post on him and his story. 

Kassie - That's me! 

So this blog will follow our every day lives, fun or interesting stories that we experience, wedding planning (come on October 27, 2013!!) and whatever pops into my head I guess. Thanks for stopping by!